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    Auditorium
    Saturday, April 23, 2022, 3:00 PM — 5:00 PM

    Abderrahmane Sissako’s African Worlds: Waiting for Happiness

    Abderrahmane Sissako’s African Worlds film series is co-presented by the UW African Studies Program, Black Cinema Collective, Henry Art Gallery, Northwest Film Forum, and the Simpson Center for the Humanities.

    Before immigrating to the West, Abdallah travels to the coastal city of Nouadhibou, Mauritania, to visit his mother. Although he grew up there, Abdallah feels anything but at home in his old neighborhood: He can no longer speak the local dialect, and he wears western clothes that immediately cast him as an outsider. But, as Abdallah spends time with a young boy and an elderly electrician and strikes up relationships with others in Nouadhibou, he can't help but feel a sense of loss for the life he's abandoning.

    ABOUT SISSAKO Abderrahmane Sissako, born in Mauritania, raised in Mali, trained in the Soviet Union, France, and elsewhere, is the Oscar- and Palme d’Or-nominated director and writer or co-writer of 4 award-winning feature films: Life on Earth, 1999; Waiting for Happiness, 2002; Bamako, 2006; and Timbuktu, 2014. He recently staged his first opera, Le Vol du Boli, with music from Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur). He has also made numerous shorts and served as producer on the films of promising, young West African filmmakers.
    ADMISSION

    Free and open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged. Please note that while masks will be optional beginning April 11, we encourage all visitors to wear masks and to social distance. Read our complete visitor guidelines here.

    PROGRAM PARTNERS

    UW African Studies Program

    Black Cinema Collective

    Northwest Film Forum

    Simpson Center for the Humanities

    ACCESS
    This event is public.
    ACCESSIBILITY
    The museum is fully accessible by wheelchair, and we strive to provide services and accommodations for anyone who needs assistance. Assisted listening devices are available upon request. Please email contact-programs@henryart.org with particular needs or questions you may have.

    Film still, Waiting for Happiness (2002). Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako.

    Related Programs

    <p><em></em>Film Still,&nbsp;<em>Timbuktu</em> (2014). Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako. Image courtesy of Cohen Media Group.</p>
    Talks & Performances

    Film Series: Abderrahmane Sissako’s African Worlds

    April 22, 2022 – April 26, 2022